Wrestling nationals: Gourav Baliyan crowned champion on final day
Unfancied Pritam won the 74kg national title while Asian Games medallist Narsingh Yadav won bronze in the category.
Asian championships silver-medallist Gourav Baliyan won the 79kg title on the final day of the senior national wrestling championships 2021 in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh on Saturday.
Gourav Baliyan beat fellow Asian silver-medallist Jitender 5-3 in the 79kg final. Jitender was being mentored by Tokyo 2020 bronze-medallist Bajrang Punia, who had opted out of the nationals as he is recovering from a knee injury.
In the highly competitive 74kg category, young Pritam emerged as the national champion. Pritam beat junior world championships bronze-medallist Yash 11-0 in the final.
Yash had earlier beaten former Asian champion and worlds bronze-medallist Narsingh Yadav in the semi-final. Narsingh Yadav, meanwhile, had beaten former champion Amit Dhankar in the qualification round.
In the absence of Bajrang Punia (65kg) and Olympic silver medallist Ravi Kumar Dahiya (57kg), the nationals offered a chance for others to shine.
In the 65kg, Rohit won the national title while Aman won the 57kg title. Vicky was crowned the 92kg national champion and Shivraj won the 125kg national title.